# Fiat 126
The Fiat 126 is a two-door, rear-engined city car introduced by Fiat in 1972 as the successor to the [Fiat 500](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiat-500), and built in Italy until 1980 and in Poland until 2000, where the licensed version was known as the Polski Fiat 126p and nicknamed "Maluch" ("the little one").[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) With more than 3.3 million units built in Poland and about 1.35 million in Italy, it became the car that motorized Poland.[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o) • [3](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022526617698152)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Production run | Italy 1972–1980 (1,352,912 units); Poland 1973–2000 (3,318,674 units)[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o) |
| Engine | Rear-mounted, air-cooled two-cylinder petrol engine; 594 cc and 23 HP at launch, 652 cc and 24 HP from 1977[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) • [4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) |
| Dimensions | Length 3,054 mm, width 1,377 mm, height 1,335 mm; kerb weight about 600 kg[4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) |
| Performance | Top speed 105 km/h; 0–100 km/h in 51.0 seconds[4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) |
| Polish launch | First Polski Fiat 126p left the Bielsko-Biała line on 6 June 1973; Tychy plant opened September 1975[5](https://muzeum.olsztyn.pl/6127%2Ctelewizor-meble-maly-fiat-oto-marzen-szczyt.html) |
| License terms | Signed 29 October 1971; repaid entirely in finished engines, 1.1 million delivered to Fiat by 1978[6](https://nmt.waw.pl/2023/06/06/50-rocznica-rozpoczecia-produkcji-fiata126p/) |
| End of production | Last car, a yellow "Happy End" limited series of 1,000 units, left Bielsko-Biała on 22 September 2000[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o) |
## Origins and the Polish license
The 126 was presented in 1972 and shared its wheelbase and much of its running gear with the Fiat 500, wrapped in a slightly larger, restyled body with more interior space.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) Its world premiere on 9 November 1972 took place in two locations, Turin and Plac Defilad square in Warsaw, a sign of how central Poland already was to the project.[7](https://www.mit.krakow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/9dba51968f6988d6e325f722f1da6092_polski-fiat-126p-passenger-car.pdf)
**The license deal.** Under Edward Gierek, Poland sought a Western partner for a small car for mass motorization. Polish negotiators approached four firms: [Volkswagen](https://www.edgepedia.org/volkswagen), Renault, Citroën, and Fiat. Volkswagen refused talks; Renault offered the R4, then in its tenth year of production, and Citroën the older 2CV. Fiat's offer of an entirely new model proved the most attractive.[6](https://nmt.waw.pl/2023/06/06/50-rocznica-rozpoczecia-produkcji-fiata126p/) The license agreement was signed on 29 October 1971 between Fiat and the Polish foreign-trade organization PHZ Polmot.[5](https://muzeum.olsztyn.pl/6127%2Ctelewizor-meble-maly-fiat-oto-marzen-szczyt.html)
The payment arrangement was unusual: Poland paid not in dollars but in finished engines. Both the Polish-built cars and the cars assembled in Turin used Polish-made engines, and by 1978, after 1.1 million engines had been delivered, the license was fully repaid.[6](https://nmt.waw.pl/2023/06/06/50-rocznica-rozpoczecia-produkcji-fiata126p/) The agreement also assigned Fiat 50,000 finished cars for sale in [Western Europe](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-europe) through its own network, 820,000 engines made in Bielsko-Biała, and a supply of spare parts.[8](https://fcagroup.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ZakladTychy2016_ENG.pdf)
Historians have described the project's aims as raising Polish economic competitiveness, narrowing the technological gap with the West, and, above all, transplanting individual car ownership to Poland.[3](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022526617698152) Contemporaries debated the choice of model: the larger Fiat 127 offered more space and a more modern design but at higher production cost, and it was priced out of reach of Polish buyers.[6](https://nmt.waw.pl/2023/06/06/50-rocznica-rozpoczecia-produkcji-fiata126p/)
## Design and mechanics
The 126 kept the 500's rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. A two-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine with a four-speed gearbox sat at the rear and drove the rear wheels; the front suspension used a single transverse leaf spring with telescopic shock absorbers, and all wheels had hydraulic drum brakes in a two-circuit system without a booster.[7](https://www.mit.krakow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/9dba51968f6988d6e325f722f1da6092_polski-fiat-126p-passenger-car.pdf) The launch engine was a 594 cc unit producing 23 HP at 4,800 rpm, good for a top speed over 105 km/h from a 580 kg car.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126)
**Growth of the engine.** From July 1977 capacity rose to 650 cc (652 cc in Polish specifications), with power up to 24 HP.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) • [4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) The 126 Bis of 1987 laid the engine flat to free a real luggage compartment behind a tailgate, using a 703 cc water-cooled engine, the only 126 to need a radiator; Polish sources list 704 cc and 26 to 27 HP for the water-cooled variants.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) • [9](https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/marken-modelle/fiat/126/) The Bis was built for only about five years; the air-cooled version proved the more durable engine and outlived it.[9](https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/marken-modelle/fiat/126/) • [10](https://www.autobild.de/klassik/artikel/fiat-126-4217791.html)
In late 1976 the 126 "Personal" and "Personal 4" debuted at the Turin Motor Show, with resin bumpers in place of chrome, rubber side strips derived from experimental safety-car studies, a new steering wheel and dashboard, an alternator replacing the dynamo, and revised suspension and brakes.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126)
## Production in Poland and elsewhere
Italian production ran at the Cassino plant, opened in 1972 specifically for the new car, with part of output, including right-hand-drive and sunroof models, moved to [Termini Imerese](https://www.edgepedia.org/termini-imerese) in Sicily and to the Autobianchi plant at Desio.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) In Austria, Steyr in Graz assembled more than 2,000 examples between 1973 and 1975, fitting its own 645 cc two-cylinder boxer engine rated at 25 PS.[4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) • [10](https://www.autobild.de/klassik/artikel/fiat-126-4217791.html) Zastava in [Yugoslavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/yugoslavia) also assembled the 126 for its domestic market using Polish-made components.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126)
**The Polish plants.** The first Polski Fiat 126p, built from Italian components, left the Bielsko-Biała factory of Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) on 6 June 1973.[5](https://muzeum.olsztyn.pl/6127%2Ctelewizor-meble-maly-fiat-oto-marzen-szczyt.html) • [11](https://rezerwa126p.pl/?page_id=22503) A new plant at [Tychy](https://www.edgepedia.org/tychy) began production in September 1975.[12](https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/fiat/press/10-million-vehicles-produced-in-the-former-fsm-and-fiat-auto-poland-factories) From May 1985 all 126s, including those sold in Italy, came from the Polish plants and were marketed as "Fiat 126 – Made by FSM"; from 1980 Poland had been the model's only producer, the first time a Fiat remained in the range while built exclusively abroad.[1](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126) • [7](https://www.mit.krakow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/9dba51968f6988d6e325f722f1da6092_polski-fiat-126p-passenger-car.pdf) From 1991 the 126p was built only in Bielsko-Biała, where the engines were also made.[13](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-swietuje-100-lat-obecnosci-w-polsce)
Totals: 3,318,674 cars were built in Poland between 1973 and 2000, of which 897,316 were exported between 1975 and 1992; Italy produced 1,352,912 between 1972 and 1980.[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o) Export destinations included China, Chile, New Zealand, and Cuba.[4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) Between 1985 and 1989 more than 23,000 Maluchs went to China, where many served as taxis, 5,000 of them in the city of Wenzhou alone; in 1988 the model reached Australia and Cuba, the latter taking 14,000 cars.[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o)
The last Maluch, a yellow limited series of 1,000 cars named "Happy End", left the Bielsko-Biała line at noon on 22 September 2000; one example went to the Fiat museum in Turin and another to the Museum of Technology in Warsaw.[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o)
## The Maluch in Polish life
The nickname Maluch, from the Polish word for "little one", reflected the car's size, and from 1997 it became the model's official name.[4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) In Italy it was affectionately called the "Bambino".[9](https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/marken-modelle/fiat/126/) The launch price of 69,000 złotych equaled roughly 20 average monthly salaries, and a 1976 ranking in the German newspaper *Auto Motor und Sport* named the Fiat 126 the cheapest small car in Europe to buy and run.[2](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o) In the mid-1970s the average salary stood at about 3,500 złotych, and cars were sold against ration coupons ("talons") rather than on the open market.[4](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/) Demand consistently outran supply: a revised sales system introduced in 1981 failed because of production shortages, and waiting periods stretched to as much as ten years, pushing many buyers toward informal car markets.[14](https://bib.gwsh.edu.pl/ici/recorddetail?id=bwmeta1.element.baztech-cdb8dd09-4742-4ba0-95dc-28c9f7a5d678)
The car was used for far more than city driving; Polish owners took it on long-distance travel and moving house, and its two-cylinder engine's coughing, hard-starting character earned it the additional nickname "kaszlak".[7](https://www.mit.krakow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/9dba51968f6988d6e325f722f1da6092_polski-fiat-126p-passenger-car.pdf) • [5](https://muzeum.olsztyn.pl/6127%2Ctelewizor-meble-maly-fiat-oto-marzen-szczyt.html) Its ubiquity also made it a base for experiments: a six-wheel four-wheel-drive amphibious light military vehicle (LPT) was built from 126p subassemblies in 1978, and the "Wszedołaz", a 126p on caterpillar tracks that could swim, was built in Radom in 1979–1980 to monitor power lines in winter.[15](https://muzeumtechniki.eu/en/exhibitions/polish-prototypes/) A more comfortable successor, the one-box Beskid, was completed in prototype form at Bielsko-Biała in mid-1983, with seven cars built by 1987, but it never reached production.[15](https://muzeumtechniki.eu/en/exhibitions/polish-prototypes/)
## References
1. [Fiat 126, Stellantis Heritage](https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/stories/fiat-126)
2. [Fiat 126p Maluch – 40 lat minęło!, Stellantis Media](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-126p-maluch-40-lat-min%C4%99%C5%82o)
3. [Mariusz Jastrząb (2017), Fiat's small cars for Polish mass motorisation, The Journal of Transport History](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022526617698152)
4. [Polski Fiat 126p „Maluch” (1977), Muzeum Techniki Wojskowej GRYF](https://muzeumgryf.pl/eksponaty/polski-fiat-126p-maluch-1977-r/)
5. [„Telewizor, meble, mały Fiat oto marzeń szczyt…”, Muzeum Olsztyn](https://muzeum.olsztyn.pl/6127%2Ctelewizor-meble-maly-fiat-oto-marzen-szczyt.html)
6. [50 rocznica rozpoczęcia produkcji Fiata 126p, Narodowe Muzeum Techniki w Warszawie](https://nmt.waw.pl/2023/06/06/50-rocznica-rozpoczecia-produkcji-fiata126p/)
7. [Polski Fiat 126p passenger car, Muzeum Inżynierii Miejskiej w Krakowie](https://www.mit.krakow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/9dba51968f6988d6e325f722f1da6092_polski-fiat-126p-passenger-car.pdf)
8. [Zakład Tychy, FCA Group](https://fcagroup.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ZakladTychy2016_ENG.pdf)
9. [Fiat 126 – Alle Generationen, auto motor und sport](https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/marken-modelle/fiat/126/)
10. [Kaufberatung: Fiat 126, AUTO BILD KLASSIK](https://www.autobild.de/klassik/artikel/fiat-126-4217791.html)
11. [Kalendarium – Rezerwa 126p](https://rezerwa126p.pl/?page_id=22503)
12. [10 million vehicles produced in the former FSM and Fiat Auto Poland factories, Stellantis Media](https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/fiat/press/10-million-vehicles-produced-in-the-former-fsm-and-fiat-auto-poland-factories)
13. [Fiat świętuje 100 lat obecności w Polsce, Stellantis Media](https://www.media.stellantis.com/pl-pl/fiat/press/fiat-swietuje-100-lat-obecnosci-w-polsce)
14. [Hubert Wilk (2024), Samochód dla Kowalskiego, Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki](https://bib.gwsh.edu.pl/ici/recorddetail?id=bwmeta1.element.baztech-cdb8dd09-4742-4ba0-95dc-28c9f7a5d678)
15. [Polish prototypes, Museum of Technology and Transport in Szczecin](https://muzeumtechniki.eu/en/exhibitions/polish-prototypes/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Road transport › Automobiles › French and Italian automobile models › City and family cars*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license